Fugitive captured in Virginia after five years

WASHINGTON – U.S. marshals in Virginia have captured a fugitive who had been on the run from drug charges for five years.

The U.S. Marshals Service in Newport News says that Fernando Harris, 45, was one of 33 suspects in northern Alabama, Texas, California and Mexico who were charged with a conspiracy involving cocaine, crack and marijuana in 2008. All but two of the suspects were captured within two months of the indictment, but Harris allegedly went into hiding.

About a week and a half ago, according to a statement, the northern Alabama marshals’ office developed information leading them to believe Harris was in eastern Virginia. And yesterday afternoon, they said, law enforcement officers, including the Newport News and Hampton police departments, found Harris driving away from a home in Hampton. They followed him for about a quarter-mile and arrested him when he stopped to look in his trunk.

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